WildStarWiki:Citation
The citation of sources provides a way to ensure that the information contained in this wiki is correct, and defuses the common criticism that information in a wiki is unreliable. Providing citations is especially helpful where different sources describe two conflicting versions of lore. What is canon? The wiki isn't in the position to determine what is canon lore in the WildStar Online universe, but we can give some guidelines. If the source is from in-game, the lore is most likely canon — with the newer the game, the more likely the lore is canon. Some other good canon sources are, of course, blog entries from Carbine employees at official sites, game manuals, and interviews with known lore makers. Citation templates The , , templates, and the other related templates found in Category:Citation templates, should be the templates of choice when dealing with citations, especially for more experienced users. These templates are used instead of and tags, and create a standard look on this wiki for citing, displaying sources, or requesting citations.\ Reference and citation examples One reference used twice, one of each type of citation needed, one reference list, and one manual reference. See WildStarWiki:Manual of Style and for more complete info on formatting, style, and for usage specifics. In Bananas of Wrath The are only a few new bananas . However publisher says may be more on the way . Banana II is not son of King Banana . None the less, the great bananas are still being searched for. References * Manual reference for some kind of banana source ;In Bananas of Wrath The are only a few new bananas . However publisher says may be more on the way . Banana II is not son of King Banana . None the less, the great bananas are still being searched for. ;References * Manual reference for some kind of banana source Making references References are added to a words, phrases, or sections of content on a page using the template, and detail the source of information for that content, like book or external article name, author, date, publisher, web links. Any text can have a reference or citation added, and multiple cites can be placed in the same sentence. References for external sourcesare strongly encouraged and often required. See Manual of Style and for more on usage, placement, and style. References have standard source fields and can contain additional footnotes, annotations, reasoning, or anything (within reason) can be put in the Ref |notes= option. References can also be used to link talk page discussions to articles. When making references, be sure to make clear what information came from where, through the use of clean placement, quotation marks, parentheses, or separate sentences for each cite. Lengthy reasoning should be in the article itself, as citation notes should remain source-related at all times. Note: in the absence of an actual references section, do not add a little '1' in superscript (1), add the section. Please do not add any notes in superscript in place of ref. Reference list The adds the actual list of references created by to a page, and in a smaller font and automatic columns and formatting. Any page with a reference must also have a standard References section with a template. Be sure to keep the references section, separate from other trivia and note sections. See Manual of Style for References section formatting and placement specifics. Multiple references to the same source Often, many facts on a page will come from the same source. To avoid clutter, use to the main reference, and for any other references to the same material. This causes all cites to link to the same reference. The actual ref id name is unimportant as long as it remains consistent and unambiguous, however a name should chosen that is short and related to what is being cited to avoid confusion. Manual sources While using is better, manual sources or references can be added to the References section in a * (un-ordered) list, just under the template. Whenever the References section is added the should always be added, even if no references of those types exist yet. Reasons for adding manual references are if a large section from one source, or a repeated section from a few similar sources, is paraphrased into one article, it is often easier to manually list the sources in the References section than to make several cluttered and repeating ref links. Note that citing every paragraph with is also acceptable and not to be discouraged, but annoyingly repetitive. Note that if a small factoid is added to the article not found in one of the major sources, this increases the need for each paragraph to be cited. Requests for citations For regular individual facts that should have an external reference, such as statements about upcoming game features, or not otherwise easily discoverable in the game or game materials, then the template can be added where a citation should go. An explanation of why a source is needed should also be placed on the article's discussion page. Articles with this template will appear in Category:Citations needed. If an individual fact is quoted in an article which might be under dispute, or can not be verified by external site or reference, like with game lore, fictional history, or game data like if an NPC was removed form the game, then the template can be added where a citation would go. This template does not mark something as a fact, but can be thought of as needing a fact check and more clarification or a reference added. An explanation of why a source is needed should also be placed on the article's discussion page. Articles with this template will appear in Category:Statements needing citations. When to cite In a perfect world on Wikipedia the answer is always, but because this wiki is primarily about WildStar Online (and is not Wikipedia), not everything needs to be cited. A description of things, services, and details that can be found by just looking at a sub-zone does not need to be cited, unless a detail is debatable or obscure. Obscure in this context means 'rarely mentioned' not 'hard to find by looking'. A guide for finding or obtaining something can be included, but actual citation is not needed. Most information on the wiki is original research anyway. This does not mean that these things are impossible to cite, just that is not necessary. Most other things on the wiki do need citation! Note, that and should not be used within reference tags, and issues with references themselves are good candidates for the page's discussion page. Helping provide citations and cleanup If you are interested in helping find and supply needs for citations, you can visit lists of pages needing help. * Category:Citations needed - pages with general citation requests * Category:Statements needing citation - pages needing history or lore citations or fact checks See also * WildStarWiki:Manual of Style * WildStarWiki:Editing policy